Punjab, Haryana lead as India hits 64% of Kharif paddy procurement target
Thanks to a robust procurement system in Punjab and Haryana, where the government implements crop diversification from paddy, the Centre has been able to meet nearly 64 per cent of the Kharif-grown paddy purchase target of 492.11 lakh tonnes (lt) in only three months since it began in October.
Rice procurement during October-December 2024 was up 4.3 per cent, at 313.13 lt from 300.15 lt in the year-ago period. Procurement in Punjab, Haryana and other northern states was completed in December, while in Uttar Pradesh, it will continue until the end of February.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has managed to buy 116.30 lt in Punjab (including Chandigarh), which is 6.5 per cent lower than last year’s 124.35 lt. In Haryana it is 35.99 lt against 39.49 lt in 2023-24. The target in Punjab was 124 lt, and in the Haryana was 40 lt in 2024-25 marketing year.
“First three months normally show the trend of procurement, unless there is a big change in harvesting period. While it was lower in Punjab and Haryana, most other states have reported higher procurement,” said an expert, adding the government could manage to buy around 500 lt from kharif-grown crops.
According to the latest data, rice procurement in Chhattisgarh has been reported at 52.84 lt until December 31, which is 37 per cent lower from 38.59 lt year-ago as the state pays bonus over and above the paddy MSP of ₹2,325/quintal.
Telangana’s rice purchase is up by 4 per cent at 28.25 lt from 27.11 lt, Uttar Pradesh has reported 5.5 per cent higher procurement at 23.88 lt from 22.65 lt, Madhya Pradesh has seen 43.5 per cent surge at 16.65 lt from 11.60 lt and Maharashtra also higher by 6 per cent at 3.69 lt from 3.49 lt.
Even rice purchase in Andhra Pradesh, which was affected due to floods and cyclones a few months back, has reported 77 per cent increase at 10.98 lt as against 6.21 lt a year ago. Another major improvement is seen in Bihar, where the rice procurement is up 63.7 per cent at 6.79 lt, compared to 4.15 lt.
Rice procurement in Odisha, currently down, is expected to inch up as the State government has announced to buy at ₹3,100/quintal by paying from its own Budget the bonus amount from the MSP. Purchases were lower by 11.9 per cent until December 31, at 7.87 lt, as against 8.93 lt in the year-ago period.
West Bengal, too, has reported lower purchase. Experts said that it was due to a base effect since farmers harvested paddy crop earlier than normal in the 2023-24 season. Procurement in the state has reached 0.05 lt against 3.44 lt the year before.
Another state with lower procurement is Tamil Nadu, as the Centre has been able to buy 3.63 lt since it started on September 1, as against 3.71 lt in the year-ago period.
The agriculture ministry has estimated the kharif rice production to reach a record 119.93 million tonnes (mt) in 2024-25 from 113.26 mt year-ago, up by 6 per cent.